Like most cities in California, San Diego was built with the car in mind. Only 2.6 percent of people here commute by transit — that’s extremely low compared with dense cities like Chicago, New York and Boston.
But how do we improve the system? And what can reasonably be done given the constraints in place? Voice of San Diego’s Andrew Keatts sat down with some of the county’s most prominent transportation leaders at Politifest 2019 to discuss the issues and potential solutions.
“Our infrastructure is at capacity and we’re not going to be able to build our way out of it,” said Paul Jablonski, CEO of San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. “I never advocate for get rid of all cars. Cars serve a purpose and there’s not everywhere that transit can go, but we can do a better job at taking 10, 15 percent out of their cars and into transit. That would make a world of difference.”
Other panelists included City Councilwoman Georgette Gómez, SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata and Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey.
Catch up on everything related to Politifest 2019 here.